During these hard times, union leaders are forced to make difficult decisions. One of those decisions was whether or not to accept a stipend from the City instead of a raise. As a testament to the efficiency of our union’s democratic process, the AT/OT and IT/IS bargaining units were able to come to a decision last Friday and accepted the ratification of a contract, while other bargaining units, elected to continue to fight for their raise on principle.

Unlike many AFSCME locals, 1180 continues to negotiate separate contracts for various areas of the workplace. Some have insisted that this ensures the autonomy of those departments while others have criticized separate negotiations for allowing the City to use divide and conquer techniques to weaken all contracts.

But for1180, the “One Union” spirit remains unbroken, even after intense discussions on negotiating strategy. Today, with their contract ratified and their stipend secure, the AT/OT and IT/IS units are determined to push forward this coming year and regain ground lost during previous years. With local 1180’s proven commitment to protecting workers and tax-payers, a new optimism is growing for future negotiations.